BP Power Feed

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Power Feed

Been wanting power feed in X and mostly Z. Bought a pair of 150in/lb units designed for a Bridgeport ($254 ea, free ship). Proto work is done and tested. Final assembly is waiting on lead screw ball bearing and a couple don't drill that just yet holes. So, below is a list of make, modify and...
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This is an adaptation of a BP PF to a Rockwell mill. 150in/lb, $250 ea.

GGGRRrrrr: just looked at fleabay, same PF is $100 cheaper, must be the flu.
 
I bought the Precision Mathews version for my X axis on my full size Sharp BP clone. It works but I had to fuss with the shims and the lead screw extension needs to be remade or replaced. It's not a very standard operation. It seems like this subject causes a lot of frustration to many of us.
I paid about $275 as I recall.
 
Did you have an original power feed on your BP? IMHO that was the best power feed you could have used. Yes, they had original problems, but when corrected, they are the BEST! And no, you cannot just remove the original power feed and put on an Import. The original BP feed screw feed screw for use with an original power feed has a totally different end on it. Sorry, cannot just swap out. IMHO, you should fix the original power feed you have.
 
The power feed on my machine was missing when I purchased it. Over the years several times I've tried to buy an F8 power feed, but the asking price for those available was more than I paid for the machine. There's currently one on eBay with an asking price of $1,850.00. That's way more than I'm willing to pay.

There were at least half a dozen laying in a supply room at our local technical college. They had all been replaced by Servo brand power feeds. There was nothing wrong with them, but the department head wouldn't sell them. There was a disagreement between him and the powers that be. He thought if they were sold the money should go into his budget since the original expense came out of his budget. The powers that be wanted the money from the sales to go into the general fund. As far as I know they're still setting in the supply room, because neither person has changed their mind as to where the money should go.
 
Projectnut I just check mine and it is also 13/16 dang the bad luck I guess,I wish there was a simple answer but looks like a shaft needs to be made but dang how long does it need to be? Well I am off next week so going to give my beginner skills a try.
 
I bought the Align for my tired old Bridgeport X-axis. When I sold the Bridgeport it bolted right up to my new Acer 3VS.

Just for your info.
 
jmarkwolf said:
I bought the Align for my tired old Bridgeport X-axis. When I sold the Bridgeport it bolted right up to my new Acer 3VS.

Just for your info.
Click to expand...

I installed mine last night after watching the Align video. Although the video audio was in Chinese there were English sub titles. It came with a number of shims for spacing the gears and the dial. The subtitle when installing the shims mentioned there should be little or no noise when operating the unit. Unfortunately there was no audio demonstrating what level of noise should be expected. I have a small amount of gear noise, but couldn't come up with a shim combination (with the supplied shims) to totally eliminate it. I'm not sure if the noise I have is normal, or I need to create a combination of shims to totally eliminate it. Any help would be appreciated.
 
I don't believe you can get rid of all the noise. The first time I installed my Align was on my Bridgeport and the noise was a nuisance, but every thing worked fine. When I transplanted the Align to my new Acer I was more careful selecting the shims and I was able to reduce the noise significantly. I had actually forgotten the noise was even there, but like I said I don't think you can get rid of all of it.
 
jmarkwolf said:
I don't believe you can get rid of all the noise. The first time I installed my Align was on my Bridgeport and the noise was a nuisance, but every thing worked fine. When I transplanted the Align to my new Acer I was more careful selecting the shims and I was able to reduce the noise significantly. I had actually forgotten the noise was even there, but like I said I don't think you can get rid of all of it.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'm going to run it for a few days to test everything out. If I feel the noise is excessive I'll try reshimming the distance between the power unit and the lead screw drive gear.
 
projectnut said:
Bruce you are a bad influence on us old timers. Real men have a strong left arm, and can spin the Z crank handle at about 200 rpm's. We don't need no stinkin power feed on the Z axis. However I must admit that after 20 years at work with with no power feed on the X axis, and another 20 years in my own shop, I finally broke down and purchased one. I suppose once it's installed the next step down the slippery slope will be Z axis power feed.
Click to expand...
You mean there are actually STEPS on that slippery slope!!!
News to me!! :grin:
 
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